Jan Ullrich has defended Florian Lipowitz after the German lost more time over the opening two stages of the 2026 Tour de France, insisting the Red Bull BORA hansgrohe rider has not yet reached the terrain where he can show his best level. Lipowitz conceded 16 seconds to teammate Remco Evenepoel...

When To Replace It is a feature series in which we explore when one should replace common cycling products like helmets, apparel and various moving parts on your bike. Curious about a particular product? Shoot us an email at anne.rook@futurenet.comHave you ever been in a group ride, sitting behind that one cyclist whos showing a bit too much skin through threadbare shorts? What about those compressive bibs that now wrapinstead of compressyour legs, mostly held in place by loosely fitting straps? Do you have cycling shorts that used to feel so amazing, with a chamois that was like no other, but now you feel like you cannot get them into position for most of a ride?When asked about cycling shorts lifespan, Castellis Steve Chapin offered a circumspect and environmentally conscious perspective: If youre still comfortable in the shorts, even with the less cushioned seat pad, then definitely keep riding it. No reason to fill up the landfills prematurely, said Chapin.But, shorts wont last forever. The Lycra can break down due to high heat, exposure to chlorine as well as sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation causes the molecular chains of the polyurethane segments in Lycra to degrade, much like old rubber bands becoming brittle, Chapin said.This leads to a loss of elasticity, fabric thinning, and permanent stretching out. The first place this usually happens is on the back of the short and when the Lycra degrades then youll get some transparency back there.What are the timeframes?If you want to put a number on it, Scott Sports Marketing Director Chris MacKay pegs shorts lifespan about the same as bike helmets.For most bib shorts made from polyamide/elastane blends, you can expect about three to four years of consistent performance with regular use. Higher compression fabrics can sometimes extend that lifespan slightly, said MacKay. Longevity really comes down to two key factors: construction and care.And Gianluca Caliari, president of Nalinis U.S.A. importer Albabici, agreed with MacKays suggestion regarding chamois lifespan of about three years. Cycling shorts generally need to be replaced after 10,000 to 15,000 Km (or after two to three years of regular use), as indicated by signs of wear and tear, said Caliari.The signs to look forFabric will eventually show signs of pilling, or bobbling (Image credit: Nalini)Timeframes, of course, will vary by rider depending upon mileage and care. So what other signs can we look for? The fabric may begin to look thin or slightly see-through, though that typically means theyre already well past their prime. On the chamois side, watch for pilling on the surface, which can increase friction and lead to discomfort on longer rides, MacKay said."A good pair of bib shorts will gradually tell you when they're reaching the end of their life, MAAP representative Tom Copeland told us. The biggest indicator is usually chamois fatigue. If the insert feels softer than it once did, or you're starting to feel your sit bones through the pad on rides that were previously comfortable, it's probably time for a replacement, said Copeland.A worn chamois will show signs of degradation (Image credit: Nalini)Rapha Media Manager Sophie Poston offered a few clear indicators. If the chamois stops cushioning, the fabric goes thin or sheer, or the fit goes baggy, its probably time to replace, said Poston.If you're getting saddle soreness you didn't used to get and you havent changed your saddle, bike fit or shoes, trust that feeling over how the shorts look, that's your cue, Poston offered. Pinch the chamois between your fingers. If it feels thin, flattened, or doesn't spring back, the cushioning is gone.One of the most obvious and prone-to-wear parts of cycling shorts are the panels above the chamois in the rear. Bib shorts should ideally be replaced well before the seat panel starts going sheer. When the rear panel starts offering more ventilation than compression, it's probably time to upgrade, suggested Copeland.Raphas Poston added: Fabrics in the seat panel are particularly important as they have to be more resistant to abrasion from the saddle. If you notice there is pilling (or bobbling) its a sign that the bibs are wearing.If you notice fabric is riding up or sagging or the bibs dont fit like they used to, the fabric may have worn out. This might be particularly noticeable if the bibs change a lot during the ride and feel like a different product by the time you get home.Fraying threads or separating seams are also a sign to look out for. If seams have failed it could mean a moving chamois, which can lead to saddle sores and discomfort, Poston cautioned.Another indicator its time to retire your favourite kit is if, after washing, they still smell stale at best. If you find theres a smell that survives a proper wash or it starts to smell not long after youve set off the bibs may be past their best, cautioned Poston.How to Prolong the life of cycling shortsDon't tumble dry your shorts and wash them inside out to prolong their life (Image credit: Andy Jones)It bears repeating: dont tumble dry your shorts the same way youd care for a terry cloth towel. Always wash in cool temperatures and avoid heat. Heat is the fastest way to break down both the compression and the knit structure of the fabric, significantly shortening the life of the shorts, advises Scotts MacKay.Castellis Chapin concurs, and reminds cyclists to wash shorts in warm water, and skip the dryer. Chapin said, One of the main culprits is washing at too high of temperature and high-temperature drying, so please make sure to wash your shorts in warm water and then air drying.DOWash in delicate/gentle cycleUse gentle detergent safe for delicate synthetic materialsWash inside out after each and every useReplace when chamois is pilling, is compressed, or panels are sheerDON'TExpose to spray-on sunblockUse fabric softener or scented detergentsTumble dryHang-dry from strapsWear more than once between washing

Tadej Pogacars decision to give up a possible stage win and allow his teammate Isaac del Toro to take victory on stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France has been described as a real flex against Jonas Vingegaard by the experts on UK broadcaster TNT Sports. Del Toro won in Barcelona after a dominant UA...

This installment of Weekend Snapshot spotlights off-road rides around Finland, New Zealand, and the United States. Find a glimpse at what three folks from our global community were up to during their recent time away, and share something from one of your getaways here...The post Weekend Snapshot appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Jonas Vingegaard was not surprised to see Tadej Pogacar give up the chance of victory on stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France, even though the gesture helped UAE Team Emirates XRG close the gap to his yellow jersey. Isaac del Toro took the biggest win of his career in Barcelona after accelerating in...

Good morning and welcome to the liveblog of the Tour de France. Today, the peloton says goodbye to Spain and crosses into France. A gruelling day awaits in the Pyrenees, with the riders set to tackle one tough day on the bike.Everything is set, and all that's missing is you. Join us and don't miss...

Tadej Pogacar has taken victory on stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de France, powering clear of his general classification rivals on the final rise to Les Angles after UAE Team Emirates XRG had spent the day dragging the race back from a dangerous breakaway. The Slovenian was delivered into position by I...

As our ears still resonate from the celebratory explosions that marked our great nations 250th birthday, let us also pay tribute to that other enduring symbol of freedom: the velocipede.As a Cervino owner I am always heartened to see an old Nishiki still in regular service:And as a vintage bonded Trek enthusiast I will never cease to be amazed at the cockroach-like resiliency of that particular species:But for today let us go even further back in time, to July 3rd, 1879, when one Wentworth Rollins undertook what would eventually become the longest-ever bicycle ride in these United States (or those United States, there were only like 38 of them then) at the time:[All articles via the New York Times]An oudoor sports enthusiast with no discernible source of income, lots of time to ride, and a WASPy name that suggested a trust fund or legacy of some kind, Wentworth Rollins was just the sort of person you might read about today on any number of cycling websites:I myself routinely ride to and from Tarrytown, and for most city cyclists today thats little more than an easy morning ride. But back then, between the limitations of the bicycle and the state of the roads, the one-way trip presumably took a full day and required an overnight stay:Ive actually mentioned Wentworth Rollins before, since short dispatches such as these are in stark contrast to the lengthy, self-congratulatory ride reports we read today:Though now that Im reading all these in sequence he did receive a fair number of column inches:Especially when he finally reached Saratoga:And decided to just keep riding:Which reinforces the idea that he didnt have to work:Today there is a plaque in Saratoga memorializing Rollinss accomplishments, which Ive noted when visiting the area:It is plaque-worthy, too, because here is what a Columbia ordinary bicycle with a 52-inch wheel looks like:And his route probably looked like this:[Via here]And that would have been the easy parts.Now, Im not sure whether the following is from before or after the big ride, but either way, around that time, Rollins was the present king of bicyclists in America:Even now the fever is spreading rapidly thanks chiefly to the efforts of Mr. Wentworth Rollins, the present king of bicyclists in America. He sells machines to people he can trust on installments and has a large stock of goods on hand which he sells below the usual prices to beginners.And with the country in the grip of bicycle fever and decent pennyfarthings starting at well over Two Thousand American Fun Tickets in todays money, maybe he wasnt a gentleman of leisure at all. Maybe he was just making big money selling bikes:The prices of bicycles range from $80 to $100, according to the size of wheel; the smallest being 42 inches in diameter, the largest 60 inches. The best way to get enjoyment out of the sport is to form a club of congenial spirits who will ride together. A single bicyclist is apt to attract too much attention in country places, and would often be insulted, where two or three together would meet with a hearty welcome. Moreover, company is elevating to the spirits.Yes, there was so much money in bikes in those days that by 1880 people were fighting over bags of money:As for Rollinss later years, the trail goes cold, though in 1911 someone named Wentworth Rollins writes Theodore Roosevelt in support of laws prohibiting marriage of incompetents:Heres my best attempt at a transcription:Dear Sir,The breeders of animal and vegetable, as you know, select the best for propagation while the human animal is retrograding; the lower increasingthe higher decreasing.If laws prohibiting marriage of incompetents were enacted, what a glorious race would result.It takes a strong man to advance such a propositionyou are the man.Wentworth RollinsToday California is the home of Silicon Valley, where visionaries build the future using revolutionary new tools such as AI. Back then it was much the same, only the hot concept wasnt AIit was eugenics, and Sonoma State Home was its Anthropic:Eugenics was a hallmark of the Progressive Era, espoused by figures such as Margaret Sanger, as Planned Parenthood themselves will tell you:Sanger believed in eugenics an inherently racist and ableist ideology that labeled certain people unfit to have children. Eugenics is the theory that society can be improved through planned breeding for desirable traits like intelligence and industriousness. In the early 20th century, eugenic ideas were popular among highly educated, privileged, and mostly white Americans. Margaret Sanger pronounced her belief in and alignment with the eugenics movement many times in her writings, especially in the scientific journal Birth Control Review.And in 1927 the Supreme Court decided that, yes, states can forcibly sterilize people, including the feeble-mindeda decision that, 99 years later, has never formally been overturned.Talk about a wild ride!

As the Tour de France continues, Zwift has doubled the size of its Paris map with eight new rides, which include the divisive Montmartre climb.The Paris Zwift world was originally created for the Virtual Tour de France, held on the indoor training app in 2020. The route replicated the ceremonial closing stage of the mens Tour de France, which ended on the Champs-lyses.But the new update, which you can ride from today, approximately doubles Zwifts Paris map and includes the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre climb that was first raced last year and returns for the 2026 Tour de France route.Zwift says its Montmartre KOM is short, sharp and built to sting, and appears alongside three new sprints: the glise Sprint, Tchou Tchou Sprint and Monceau Sprint.The Montmartre climb was raced at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games before being included in last years edition of the Tour.Ahead of its inclusion, race favourites expressed concern over the inclusion of the cobbled climb. Remco Evenepoel highlighted how the GC favourites might lose position and therefore time, while Jonas Vingegaard stressed how narrow the old road is. Sprinter Jonathan Milan said he preferred the previous route.Yet the closing stage delivered a dramatic finale to last years race. Tadej Pogacar attacked from the bottom of the climb before Wout van Aert counterattacked to take the stage.New Zwift Paris map routes This map shows the new roads on the expanded Zwift Paris map. Zwift Zwifters wont have to fight or space on the virtual climb or feel cobbles under their turbo trainers, but there are eight new rides to explore in the expanded Paris Map. Crpe Escape (1.64km / 113m) takes in the Champs-lyses and the Montmartre climb in a single loop. La Boucle (16km / 118m) is a single loop with the Montmartre climb before a sprint finish on the Champs-lyses. Paris Toujours (69.2km / 448) includes three laps of the Champs-lyses followed by three laps including the Champs-Elysees and Montmartre KOM via Eglise Sprint. Heart of Montmatre (74.5km / 500m) has three laps around the Champs-lyses and three laps combining the Champs-lyses and the Montmartre KOM via the Monceau Sprint. Double Espresso (30.5km / 222m) has two shots of the Champs-lyses with two more of the Montmartre KOM. Montmartre Mixer (25.2km / 190m) covers all the roads in the Paris map. Loop de loop de loop (7.2km / 36m) is a short Paris spin that is fast paced.Zwift has also included two runs Rues in Rythme and Paris Pacer taking the total number of routes to 10. More on the 2026 Tour de France Isaac del Toro's stage-winning Colnago V5Rs may sit exactly on the UCI weight limit Fans told to avoid Tour de France stage 3 due to major wildfires A Tour de France breakaway only has a 2% chance of winning, so why join one? We weighed Tadej Pogaars 2026 Tour de France bike and its heavier than you might think Jonas Vingegaards Cervlo S5 for the 2026 Tour de France is bang on the UCIs 6.8kg weight limit Can the Tour de France ever be Pogaar-proof? The race organisers face a near-impossible task These 2 Tour de France rule changes could reshape the 2026 race Cycling just got weirder Netcompany-Ineos adopt peculiar tactic for Tour de France team time trial